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Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
(''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious
mendicant A mendicant (from la, mendicans, "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many ins ...
, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persian and
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
(''derviş'') as well as in
Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...
(''Aderwish''), corresponding to the Arabic term '' faqīr''. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (''
nafs ''Nafs'' () is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", " ego" or "soul".Nurdeen Deuraseh and Mansor Abu Talib (2005), "Mental health in Islamic medical tradition", ''The Internation ...
'') to reach
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice ''
dhikr ''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remem ...
'' through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice is
Sama Sama or SAMA may refer to: Places * Sama, Burkina Faso, a town in the Kouka Department, Banwa Province, Burkina Faso * Sama, China (Sanya), a city in Hainan, China * Sama, Chalus, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Sama, Nowshahr, a vil ...
, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic
Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
. In
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...
and with adherents of Sufism, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
s and ascribed
supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
powers. Historically, the term Dervish has also been used more loosely, as the designation of various Islamic political movements or military entities.


Etymology

The Persian word ''darvīsh'' () is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian word that appears in
Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scri ...
as "needy,
mendicant A mendicant (from la, mendicans, "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many ins ...
", via Middle Persian ''driyosh.'' It has the same meaning as the Arabic word '' faqīr'', meaning people whose contingency and utter dependence upon God is manifest in everything they do and every breath they take.


Religious practice

Dervishes try to approach God by virtues and individual experience, rather than by religious scholarship. Many dervishes are mendicant ascetics who have taken a vow of poverty, unlike mullahs. The main reason they beg is to learn humility, but dervishes are prohibited to beg for their own good. They have to give the collected money to other poor people. Others work in common professions; Egyptian
Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri t ...
– known in Turkey as Kadiri – are fishermen, for example. Some classical writers indicate that the poverty of the dervish is not merely economic. Saadi, for instance, who himself travelled widely as a dervish, and wrote extensively about them, says in his '' Gulistan'':
Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
writes in Book 1 of his
Masnavi The ''Masnavi'', or ''Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi'' ( fa, مثنوی معنوی), also written ''Mathnawi'', or ''Mathnavi'', is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The ''Masnavi'' is one of the mos ...
:


Whirling dervishes

The whirling dance or
Sufi whirling Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) ( tr, Semazen borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning ''listening'', from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, ...
that is proverbially associated with dervishes is best known in the West by the practices (performances) of the
Mevlevi The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jal ...
order in Turkey, and is part of a formal ceremony known as the
Sama Sama or SAMA may refer to: Places * Sama, Burkina Faso, a town in the Kouka Department, Banwa Province, Burkina Faso * Sama, China (Sanya), a city in Hainan, China * Sama, Chalus, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Sama, Nowshahr, a vil ...
. It is, however, also practiced by other orders. The Sama is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach
religious ecstasy Religious ecstasy is a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euph ...
(''majdhb'', ''fana''). The name ''Mevlevi'' comes from the Persian poet
Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
, who was a dervish himself. This practice, though not intended as entertainment, has become a tourist attraction in Turkey.


Orders

There are various orders of dervishes, almost all of which trace their origins from various Muslim saints and teachers, especially Imam Ali. Various orders and suborders have appeared and disappeared over the centuries. Dervishes spread into
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, the
Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...
, the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
,
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
, and
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
. Other dervish groups include the Bektashis, who are connected to the
janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...
, and the
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa ( Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوس ...
, who are rather orthodox in their beliefs. Other fraternities and subgroups chant verses of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
, play drums or whirl in groups, all according to their specific traditions. They practice
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
, as is the case with most of the Sufi orders in
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
, many of whom owe allegiance to, or were influenced by, the Chishti order. Each
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
uses its own garb and methods of acceptance and initiation, some of which may be rather severe. The form of Sufi dervishism practised during the 17th century was centered upon esotericism, patience and
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...
.


Other historical uses


Mahdists

Various western historical writers have sometimes used the term ''dervish'' rather loosely, linking it to, among other things, the Mahdist War in Sudan and other conflicts by Islamic military leaders. In such cases, the term "dervishes" may have been used as a generic (and often pejorative) term for the opposing Islamic entity and all members of its military, political and religious institutions, including persons who would not be considered "dervishes" in the strict sense. During the Mahdist War, Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Mahdī decreed that all those who came to join him should be called anṣār, after the Prophet's earliest followers. He forbade the use of the term ‘dervish’ to describe his followers. Despite this,
British soldiers The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Br ...
and colonial officials continued to use the term in relation to the '' anṣār''. While some Britons used the term to denigrate the followers of the Mahdī, it was also used with a sense of admiration in accounts by British soldiers which describe the fearlessness and bravery of the lightly armed 'dervishes'. Thus, the word has become closely associated with the '' anṣār'' and is often used inaccurately in relation to the Mahdi's followers, even today. For example, a contemporary British drawing of the fighting in Sudan was entitled "The defeat of the dervishes at Toski" (see History of Sudan (1884–1898)#British response).


In literature

Various books discussing the lives of Dervishes can be found in Turkish literature. Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović and The Dervish by Frances Kazan extensively discussed the life of a Dervish. Similar works on the subject have been found in other books such as Memoirs of a Dervish: Sufis, Mystics and the Sixties by Robert Erwin. Majdeddin Ali Bagher Ne'matollahi has Said that Sufism is a core of being and bridge between religion and science.


Views on Dervish

Dervishes and their sufi practices are accepted by traditional Sunni Muslims but different groups such as
deobandis Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanaut ...
, salafis disregard various practices of Dervishes as un-Islamic.Syed, Jawad; Pio, Edwina; Kamran, Tahir; Zaidi, Abbas (2016-11-09). ''Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan''. Springer. . "They also criticises various practices including sama, qawwali, whirling etc. Whereas Sufi
Barelvi
consider their beliefs and practices as mystical practices."


Gallery

File:Dervish rug.jpg, Dervish Azerbaijani rug, XIX c. Tabriz school, State Museum of Azerbaijan Carpet and Applied Art File:Amedeo Preziosi - Turks.jpg, Ottoman Dervishes portrayed by
Amedeo Preziosi Amedeo Preziosi (2 December 1816 – 27 September 1882) was a Maltese painter and traveler known for his watercolours and prints of the Balkans, Ottoman Empire, and Romania. Biography Amedeo Preziosi was born in 1816 to a noble family in Malta. ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, 1857 File:Darvish bazaar.jpg, A Qajar-era Persian dervish, seen here from an 1873 depiction of Tehran's Grand Bazaar File:Constantinople(1878)-begging dervis.png, An Ottoman Dervish in Istanbul, 1878 File:Wrau-dervishes-damascus-cropped.jpg, Dervishes photographed by
William H. Rau William Herman Rau (January 19, 1855 – November 19, 1920) was an American photographer, active primarily in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best remembered for his stereo cards of sites around the world, and for ...
near Damascus, circa 1903 File:Dervish, 1913.jpg, A Palestinian Dervish in 1913 File:Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.jpg, Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi, leader of the Sudanese Dervishes File:Keskul GrantBowl.JPG, Sufi kashkuls were often made from a coco de mer which ordinary beggars would have difficulty to find File:Kashkul, or Beggar’s Bowl, with Portrait of Dervishes and a Mounted Falconer, A.H. 1280.jpg, ''Kashkul, or Beggar’s Bowl, with Portrait of Dervishes and a Mounted Falconer'', A.H. 1280.
Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown ...
File:Brooklyn Museum - A Gathering of Dervishes.jpg, A Gathering of Dervishes in the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...
File:Brooklyn Museum - A Family of Dervishes.jpg, A family of Dervishes, possibly by Antoin Sevruguin (between 1876 and 1925) File:Dodwell Dervishes 2.jpg, The dance of the dervishes, Athens File:Friday afternoon Dervishes (8625532149).jpg, Sufi dervishes in
Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of th ...
, Sudan File:Mohammed Abdullah Hassan-dj.jpg, Sayyid
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Sayid Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan ( so, Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan; 1856–1920) was a Somali religious and military leader of the Dervish movement, which led a two-decade long confrontation with various colonial empires including the British, ...
, head of Darawiish File:Sheykh_of_the_Rufai_Dervishes.jpg, A Sheikh of the Rifa'i Sufi Order


See also

* Derviş, a variant of the spelling *
Fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce ...
* Qalandariyya * The Tale of the Four Dervishes ''Qissa Chahar Dervish'' * '' Death and the Dervish,'' a novel by Yugoslav writer Meša Selimović (published in 1966)


References

{{Authority control Islamic honorifics Sacred dance Sufism Islamic mysticism Mysticism Religious orders Islamic orders